Success in Nashville! Agvocacy 2.0

My trip to #ACFC11 or Agchat Foundation Conference 2011 was a major success. I was so glad to finaly put faces to all the names of people I interact with daily in social media throughout agriculture. I had a great time and can't wait to do it again.

The picture in the elevator at the hotel (wish I had remembered to snap a pic) we stayed had a saying written on it that I think sums up the whole experience and point of social media and agvocating. The saying was this, "Enjoy your day discovering something great and exciting".

How's that? Pretty much hits home on how I feel about agvocating. I want to do something great! Something exciting! That's when I realized that through social media I already am. The first time someone reads my blog, follows me on twitter or asks me a question on facebook I've done something great and exciting. I've created a bridge across the gap from consumer to producer. now that's great and exciting right? I sure think so.

I was overwhelmed by how polite everyone was and how easy it was to talk to people. I wanted to learn as much as I could about social media as well as everyone's story. I gained so much information from both the conference and the conversations.

Mommy bloggers talk to us about their concerns with ag

Seeing the faces of all the agvocates as we listened to mothers from outside the ag community talk about the decisions they make for their families while they shop was amazing. It was great to see a unanimous smile in the room and I think a unanimous voice saying "we're here to serve you, ask away".  

I also enjoyed sharing gifts from each of our local areas and learning about interesting agfacts from each person's area. (expect more in a later blog)

I hope that my blog reaches someone who is outside of agriculture and wants to hear and see more about pork and our farm. I would love to talk with them and build that relationship so that I can help them understand what we do.

Agchat's conference was a success and everyone I know enjoyed it. I'm glad I committed to it and took the time to be part of such a great group.